Ice-creeper



C. W. CHURCHILL.

ICE CREEPER. APPUCATION FILED 'Pms. 1918.

1,340, 77, Patented May 25,1920.

Y Arron/vs). I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. Y

CHARLES W. CHURCHILL, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

ICE-CREEPER.

T 0 all-whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES lV. CHURCH- ILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvements in Ice-Creepers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ice-creepers, and comprises adjustable means of securing a creeper to the heel of a boot or shoe in such a manner as to allow the creeper to be used with heels of different lengths and widths.

The construction of the device is simple and inexpensive, the heel-plate with its stops or guards, ears and slots being formed by a single stroke of a double acting punch press and requiring no further machine work.

The creeper may be worn either with or without rubber overshoes.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan of the heel plate of my improved icecreeper; Fig. 2, a right side elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a rear elevation of the creeper applied to the heel of a boot or shoe; Fig. 4, a rear elevation of the creeper; Fig. 5, a right side elevation of the creeper applied to a heel; Fig. 6, a right side elevation on a reduced scale of said creeper applied to a boot.

The heel-plate A is provided with stops or guards, B B and ears, C C both integral with the body of said plate, and all of these may be punched from sheet metal, preferably sheet steel, at a single operation of a double acting punch press.

The stops B B prevent the heel-plate from sliding forward, and prevent the rear part of said plate from lateral displacement on the heel H, said stops being arranged diagonally from each other, and extending upward nearly vertically from the body of the heel-plate.

Each stop is provided with two slots 7) b the slot Z), which in each stop is nearest the other stop being in a vertical plane, and the front slot 22 in each stop being inclined downward away from the other slot of the same stop.

The ears C C project outward from the forward ends of the sides of the heel-plate and are bent slightly upward to keep the strap D out of contact with the ground, but not enough to touch the sides of the heel, and each ear is provided with a slot 0, the

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntgd )[ay 192() Application filed April a, 1918;

Serial No. 226,397,

slots in the ears being parallel with each other.

The middle portion of the non-elastic strap D passes through the slots 7) b of each stop, the above described inclination of the front slots 12 being such as to direct the members (2 (Z in front of the stops toward the instep of the wearer, and said strap is passed through loose links E at each side of the creeper and vertically downward through the slots 0 of the ears C C to form the vertical strap members d d, the extreme ends of the strap D being lapped over the members 6Z2 6Z3 and fastened thereto as by rivets (Z 03 A strap F, which .may be a single elastic strap, connects the two links E at oppositesides of the foot of the wearer and passes over his instep, holding the stops B B and the body of the plate A firmly against the heel H, or a strap in two parts united by a buckle may be used, in either case the ends of said strap F may be passed through the links E, folded and riveted at f f in the same manner as the ends of the strap D are secured to the ears C C It will be seen that the strap F draws the side loops formed in the strap D in such a manner as to draw the creeper forward by means of the strap members (Z (Z and upward by means of the members d d and that the link between the two members of the same loop may change its position as required by the height of the instep and the size of the ankle of the wearer. It will be seen that this arrangement of the strap pre-. vents the heel-plate from sliding backward on the heel and holds the heel-plate up against the bottom of the heel.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination in an ice-creeper of a heel-plate, provided with ears at the front ends of the sides of said heel-plate, and with stops arranged at the rear of said heel-plate, said stops having slots, a single non-elastic strap, arranged in said slots, and having its ends secured to said ears, and having loops at the sides of said heel-plate, a loose link arranged at the closed ends of each loop and a strap adapted to pass across the instep of the wearer and connecting said links, to draw the rear members of said loops back of said links forward and upward, to hold said stops against said heel, and to draw the front members of said loops upward, to hold said plate against the bottom of said heel.

2. The combination in an ice-creeper of a heel-plate provided with ears at the front ends of the sides ofsaid heel-plate, and with stops arranged diagonally at the rear of said heel-plate, and each stop having a rear vertical slot and a front slot downwardly inclined from said vertical slot, a non-elastic strap passing through said slots and having its ends secured to said ears and forming loops at thesides of said heel-plate, a loose link arranged at the closed ends of each loop anda strap adapted to pass across the instep of the wearer and connecting said links, to draw the rear members of said loops ward, to hold said plate against the bottom of said heel.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification this sixteenth day of March,

nineteen eighteen the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES W. CHURCHILL.

Witnesses:

ALBERT M. MooRE, JAMEs H. CARMIOHAEL. 

